Fire-door for elevators.



E. O. VANDEMAR. FIRE DOOR FOR ELEVATORS. 1 VAPPLIOATION'I'ILED SEPT. 26, 1910.

983,465 Patented Feb. '7, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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EDMUND 0. VANDEMAR, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

FIRE-DOOR FOR ELEVATORS.

Patented Feb. 7, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND O. VANDE- MAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of @regon, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Doors for Elevators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to the class of fire or trap doors used to cover elevator hatches.

The object of my invention is to provide such a fire door or cover for each floor hatch of the building, and means upon the elevator cage to raise all the doors to a position where they will not interfere with the operation of the elevator, and to lower them to cover the hatches when desired. I attain these objects as well as other advantages, by the construction, combination and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my device showing the doors or traps suspended above, and the elevator cage provided with the mechanism to raise or lower the doors. Fig. 2 is a side elevation (partly in section on the line 22), of the elevator cage shown in Fig. 1, with the mechanism thereon. Fig. 3 is a front sectional view of the tripping mechanism in detail, as shown in Fig. 1, but on an enlarged scale. Fig. l-

an end view in detail of the t-ripper arm shown in Fig. 8.

Like numerals and letters refer to like parts throughoutthe views.

A. is an elevator shaft.

B is an elevator cage within the shaft A and provided in the usual manner with hoisting cables C.

The shaft A is provided with a series of fire doors or traps 55-5 being one for each floor hatch and decreasing in lateral mensions from the uppermost one downward. The floor hatches are also of decreasing dimensions from the uppermost one downward. The next. to the lowest door, 5, is provided with buffer springs 6 on its lower surface. Near the ceiling of the uppermost floor and at the four corners of the shaft A, angled catches 7 are pivoted on pivots 8. Curved contact and counterweight arms 9 are pivoted at their lower ends on the pivots 8, their upper ends being free. Rigidly secured to and near the upper ends of the arms 9, extending outwardly of the shaft A and within coil springs 10 are pins 11. The

I springs 10 are rigidly secured at one end to dependent arms 12 of the catches 7, the

other ends being free on the pins 11. The

catches 7 have beveled noses 13 on their upper parts within the shaft A of form and in position to engage beveled edges 14: on the lowest door 5. Upon the four corners of the upper surface of the roof of the cage B are vertical stands 15 rigidly secured to the roof. Rotatable shafts D are mounted in the stands 15. Vertical door supports 16 are rigidly secured on the shafts D. Within the supports 16 are plunger pins 17 beveled at the lower ends. Within the supports 16 are also recoil springs 18 about the plunger pins 17. The supports 16 are provided with balance weights 19 at their lower ends. Angled tripper arms 20 are rotatably mounted on the shafts D near their outer ends. The arms 20 have shoulders 21 at their lower ends and pivoted disks 22 on their upper ends, of form and in position to engage the catch arms 9 when the tripper is in vertical position. The trippers are also provided with counterweights 23, Fig. 47, on their lower ends.

Within the inner end of the shaft D are horizontal pins 24L movable laterally and having keys 24 on one end, of form and in position to engage the shoulders 21 of the trippers 20 when they are placed in position to engage the arms 9 of the catches 7. The pins 24L are beveled on their opposite or inner ends and extend below the plunger pins 17 in position to be engaged by them when they are depressed. Coil springs 25 are placed within the shaft D about the pins 24. Laterally of the center and upon the roof of the cage a shaft 26 is rotatably mounted. On one side of the cage a handle 27 is pivoted on a pivot 28. From a convenient part of the handle 27 a connecting rod 29 extends upward to a bell crank lever 30 which is rigidly secured on the shaft 26. Upon the opposite end of the shaft 26 a similar bell crank lever is rigidly secured but for convenience is not shown in the views. Connecting rods 30 extend from the bell crank levers 30 to connections with the upper parts of each of the supports 16.

It will now be seen that the doors 5-55 being secured by the catches 7 at the top of the shaft, it is desired to lower them. The handle 27 is moved to the dotted line position 31 Fig. 2 and released. From this position the handle 27 will be automatically returned to a vertical position by the gravity action of counterweights 19. This operation draws the supports 16 over to horizontal position as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 and allows the keys 24, then beyond the shoulders 21 of the trippers 20, to engage the same and raise them to vertical position. The cage is then elevated and the disks 22 of the trippers engage the catch arms 9 pressing them backward and releasing the doors, which are caught on the supports 16, the impact beingdeadened by the bufier springs 6. The doors are then lowered, each one remaining on its proper floor as it reaches the floor hatch. After the doors have passed the catches 7 the arms 9 are pushed out by the recoil springs 10 and the weight of the arms causes the catches to fall back to the original position. The impact of the doors also depresses the plunger pins 17 and these force out the pins 24 and the keys 24: which release the trippers 20 and they fall again to horizontal position because of their gravity weights 23.

It will further be seen that with the I mechanism left in the position last described, the doors may be raised by elevating the cage, which picks them up on the supports 16 one by one, and the doors engaging the arms 9 press the catches 7 back until the. doors are above them when they again fall outward and as the cage descends engage the lowest door and hold all the doors as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be noted that by my device the elevator cage may be start-ed'upward, re-

ceive the doors and caused to descend and deposit them at each floor, all without the operator accompanying the cage. This may be done by operating the elevator hoist mechanism from the lowest floor, and is invaluable in case of a fire having filled the building with smoke so that persons cannot go to or in the elevator shaft and handle doors on each floor. By reason of the trippers 20 lying horizontally and out of alinement with the catches 7, when not in use, the elevator may be operated continuously without releasing the doors until it is desired.

My device provides a most simple and automatic mechanism as thus shown, operated by one movement of the lever handle 27 placed in an entirely convenient position for the operator.

-Having thus fully described my invention I claim- 1. The combination with an elevator shaft, a cage, and vertical hatch supports arranged upon the upper side of its roof, of a hatch cover adapted to be carried by the supports 16 and angled cover catches 7 pivoted at their lower ends upon the sides and near the upper end of the shaft, said catches having gravity contact arms 9 pivoted at their lower ends on the catch pivots, their upper ends being free, and recoil springs placed to outwardly retain the upper catch ends the catches being formed and arranged to enidly secured to said shafts, vertically movable plunger pins 17 within the supports, extending above them, beveled on their lower ends, and holding springs 18 for said plunger pins, angled tripper arms 20 rotatably mounted on said shafts D near their outer ends and alongside the supports, said arms having counterweights 23 on their lower parts adapted to draw the arms to horizont-al position by gravity action and shoulders 21 on their lower ends, their upper ends being formed and arranged to engage the cover catches when the arms are vertically placed, laterally movable horizontal pins 24 placed within the shafts D, the inner ends thereof being beveled and in position to engage the lower ends of the plungers 17 when depressed, the outer ends provided with keys 2i in position to engage the shoulder of the trippers when the pins are in inward position, and release the trippers when the pins are in outward position to the gravity action of their counterweights, springs to retain said pins inwardly, and also means secured upon the cage to rotate the shafts D until the keys 24 engage the trippers 20 and permit their elevation to vertical position in alinement with the catches by the gravity action of the weights on the supports 16, substantially as described.

In an elevator of the kind described having hatch covers, hatch catches, stands secured on the cage roof and horizontal shafts D which are rotatable in said stands, a catch releasing mechanism comprising vertical cover supports 16, having counterweights at their lower ends, rigidly secured to said shafts, vertically movable plunger pins 17 within the supports, extending above them, beveled on their lower ends and holding springs 18 for said plunger pins, angled tripper arms 20 rotatably mounted on said shafts D near their outer ends and alongside the supports, said arms having counterweights 23 on their lower parts adapted to draw the arms to horizontal position by gravity action and shoulders 21 on their lower ends, their upper ends being formed and arranged to engage the cover catches) when the arms are vertically placed, laterally inovahle horizontal pins 24: placed Within the shafts D, the inner ends thereof being beveled and in position to engage the lower ends of the plungers 17 when depressed, the outer ends provided with keys 24: in position to engage the shoulder of the trippers when the pins are in inward position, and release the trippers when the pins are in outward position to the gravity action of their counterweights, springs to retain said pins inwardly, and also means secured upon the cage to rotate the shafts D until the keys 2% engage the trippers 20 and permit their elevation to vertical position in alinelnent with the catches by the gravity action of the weights on the supports 20, all substantially as described.

EDMUND O. VANDEMAR.

Vitnesses:

F. G. SnLLwoon, O. H. MOORE. 

